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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29686545">Boys Like Boys</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicalsmarvelandmore/pseuds/musicalsmarvelandmore'>musicalsmarvelandmore</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fake/Pretend Relationship, Falling In Love, Idiots in Love, M/M, Self-Indulgent, Sexuality Crisis, Unrequited Crush</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:42:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,736</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29686545</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicalsmarvelandmore/pseuds/musicalsmarvelandmore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the summer before sophomore year, and Seb Matthew-Smith realized two things only a few months ago. 1. He's not straight. 2. He has a crush on Ricky Bowen. A random message from Carlos draws the two boys closer together, where they come up with a plan to get the attention and jealousy of their oblivious crushes. That was the plan. This is how it worked out.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carlos Rodriguez/E.J. Caswell, Seb Matthew-Smith/Carlos Rodriguez, Seb Matthew-Smith/Ricky Bowen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Prologue and a Sexuality Crisis</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seb Matthew-Smith thought he might be a horrible person.</p><p>It wasn’t even intentional. He had known that he had liked guys for a while, at least since the end of the school year, even though he wasn’t out about it. He was who he was, and Seb was coming to terms with it, or at least was working on it. The whole thing was complicated, but he had as much time as he wanted to figure it out. It was still the summer before sophomore year, still a month to go, and he was sitting on his bed, scrolling through Instagram.</p><p>He didn’t have to tell anyone he was gay or bi or whatever, not until he wanted to. All the pieces of this made sense. There was only one problem.</p><p>And that was how he had figured out that he wasn’t straight.</p><p>Seb had a crush on a guy.</p><p>That guy was one of his friend’s boyfriends.</p><p>Of course, Seb would never do anything to hurt someone else, but that didn’t make him any better of a person, not at the twinge of jealousy every time he saw Nini with Ricky Bowen.</p><p>He didn’t know when he actually started having a crush on Ricky. In some ways, it felt like his crush had always been there, just waiting for Seb to eventually realize that he was into guys.</p><p>Because even though Seb was a year younger than Nini and Ricky, Nini was always in the chorus of the musical. She was sweet and kind, even to the awkward freshman he was. Then they figured out that both of them had similar tastes in music and both loved playing that music on the piano. The two of them got closer. That part was all natural, even normal for theater kids. When you spend a lot of time with people, it’s easier to find similarities and become friends with them. Most of the kids Seb would consider his friends at school were into theater.</p><p>Seb had always seen the boy with the curly hair around the school and thought he was cute. Of course, somehow he didn’t know, hadn’t figured out, that that was more than an aesthetic appreciation for the same sex.</p><p>But as Seb grew closer with Nini, inevitably, he would spend more time with her boyfriend, even just in passing.</p><p>It wasn’t intentional. Seb didn’t know at the time who Ricky and Nini were to each other. That didn’t make him feel any less horrible. There was no way that he would ever do something like that to Nini, but there was always the fear that it was unintentional. That even before Seb pieced the puzzle together, his subconscious had brought him to get closer to Nini, to spend more time with his turned-out-to-be-a-crush. The fact that it happened at all made it feel intentional.</p><p>There was an awful feeling of guilt in his stomach, one Seb feared he’d never be able to get rid of.  There was no way that he could ever tell anyone about this, to talk it through and admit his fears and have someone reassure him. He wasn’t ready to come out or to talk about his crush.</p><p>So instead, he just buried it deep instead and felt the fresh flare of guilt whenever Ricky or Nini posted about being together this summer and whenever he thought anything that he shouldn’t be thinking. </p><p>He eventually figured out that the feeling he got when he saw the pair together was jealousy. Even as the guilt came in, the jealousy stayed, even getting stronger. Seb didn’t want to be jealous. He had no idea what to do about any of it. He couldn’t talk to any of his friends about it because he couldn’t come out. It was close to the end of the school by the time that Seb could even figure out some of what had been going on that year inside his own mind, and he still didn’t even know fully what or who he was.. Even beyond that, he knew he was in the wrong. It wasn’t okay to have a crush on a friend’s significant other, regardless of how sexuality came into it.</p><p>Then why couldn’t Seb just get over himself and take action to get over it? He just had a stupid little crush, while it seemed like Nini and Ricky would be together forever. They were perfect together, after all.</p><p>Of course, this wasn’t the end of his crush or his story. And it all started that summer, only mere minutes after Nini posted a little video on Instagram.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The First Call</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Seb sat on his bed, his mind was distracted, swirling with the thoughts of everything else that was going on in the world outside of social media. Even as he watched the little video Nini had just posted on her Instagram, Seb smiled despite himself as he typed out a comment. There was no reason to take his stupid crush out on Nini. She was just so sweet, and it wasn’t her fault that Seb had a crush that he never should have had. He just needed to figure out some way to get over it, but until that point, he was just going to have to ignore it. There was no way that he was going to allow this to affect the rest of his life.</p><p>He lay down on his bed, scrolling through the rest of his feed, at the classmates he had gone the entire summer without seeing. Sure, Seb had been busy, and spent a lot of time with his siblings out on the farm, and at the fair, but that was different from school. These people, including people who were his friends, he had gone months without contacting. Sure, he knew it was on both sides, but that wasn’t the point.</p><p>Sometimes, it felt like Seb was supposed to be three different people. There was school Seb, and farm Seb, and the Seb that no one else knew, the one that he wasn’t even sure if he was supposed to be or if he even was. The Seb that he could only be alone, that he was sure everyone who knew school Seb or farm Seb would hate. Seb didn’t even know if he liked that version of himself either.</p><p>Still, this was his sophomore year. Maybe things were supposed to be different, maybe they weren’t. Everyone had said that things were going to change in high school, but until this point, it had felt basically the same as middle school, except with more unfamiliar faces. It kind of felt like sophomore year, and even the rest of high school was going to end up being the same.</p><p>He was excited anyway. He missed a bunch of his school friends, especially the drama geeks. Sure, things were changing, but that was exciting at the same time. A new drama teacher, a new musical, new students.</p><p>Seb hadn’t really gotten a major part before, but neither had most of his friends who had done the plays before. And all of those seniors had graduated. Sure, Seb didn’t think he was going to get the lead or anything, but he didn’t expect the lead, or really want it. Seb wasn’t the leading man. He wasn’t sure who exactly it was that he was meant to be, but even though that was terrifying, that was just going to have to be good enough.</p><p>His phone vibrated, and Seb looked at the notification at the top of his phone and grinned, slightly surprised at a text in the drama group chat. Sure, he knew some people were going off to various drama camps in the Salt Lake City area, and had all been making plans for carpooling, but Seb had his responsibilities at the farm. Honestly, he wasn’t sure who he’d want to go with, anyway. But most of the kids in the group chat for the next school year’s chat were busy with their new drama friends, and there wasn’t a reason he could think of why someone would be texting.</p><p>It was Carlos, another soon-to-be sophomore whose texts were in all capitals this time.</p><p>
  <i>GUYS.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>GUYS.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>I JUST GOT AN EMAIL FROM THE NEW DRAMA TEACHER!!!</i>
</p><p>
  <i>ASDFGHJKL</i>
</p><p>No one had responded yet, but Seb sent off a few exclamation points in response. It only took a few seconds before he had an incoming video chat from Carlos on Instagram.</p><p>Seb frowned at his phone. Sure, they were both sophomores, but it wasn’t like the two of them were that close. His freshman year had mostly been spent behind the piano and with the drama club, while Carlos had been absolutely everywhere. When the other boy was at drama, he was usually with the senior girls, always in the spotlight, while Seb hid in the background with the other underclassman in the chorus. Carlos had already been named captain of the color guard, which hardly ever happened to someone who was only a sophomore.</p><p>But, then again, Seb had been the only one who had responded so far to the message. He shouldn’t question people so much, but if anything, it was more doubting himself.</p><p>He hit accept to the request, watching as the other boy’s face filled his screen. “Hi Carlos!” he said, smiling. It was good to be school Seb again, if only for a short time, regardless of the questioning of why Carlos would have called him of all people.</p><p>“Hey Carlos!” he said, smiling as he waved.</p><p>“Okay, so I absolutely have to talk to someone about this, and I’m sure you’ll be interested in it too. So the new drama teacher emailed me, right?”</p><p>“Of course. That’s awesome that she reached out to you!”</p><p>“Right, but wait for it. She emailed me because she asked me to be the student choreographer!”</p><p>Seb blinked. “That’s amazing, Carlos!”</p><p>“Right? I don’t even know why she chose me, but-“</p><p>“Of course she chose you, Carlos! You’re already captain of the color guard as a sophomore. You’re talented and I’m sure anyone who asked would point her in your direction.”</p><p>Seb still wasn’t sure why Carlos had called him, of all people, but that didn’t mean that he was going to ask. It was nice, talking to someone who cared about theater as much as he did. And there was something about Carlos, something that Seb wasn’t even sure what it was, that made Seb thrilled he was the one who Carlos called.</p><p>Of course, it was probably just because he was the only one, or at least the first person, who had responded in the group chat, and Carlos wanted to talk about it as soon as possible. Carlos might be a drama geek or a band nerd or whatever, but he was a popular one.</p><p>“Thanks, Seb. Anyway, so I guess we’re going to be working on that, but she told me the fall musical!”</p><p>“What is it?” Seb blurted out. It felt like they had been waiting forever, which was pretty accurate since they hadn’t had a drama teacher for the fall until apparently now.</p><p>Carlos grinned. “Promise not to tell anyone?”</p><p>“Who am I going to tell? The only people who care are all off at drama camp.”</p><p>Seb tried not to sound bitter, but either Carlos didn’t catch it or he ignored it. After all, it wasn’t like Carlos was off at drama camp right now either.</p><p>“Okay, fair. Anyway, it’s High School Musical: The Musical!”</p><p>Seb grinned at the thought of it. He was sure that their entire class had grown up on those movies, and Seb knew exactly which part he wanted.</p><p>He tried to paste the smile on his face to keep it from falling at the thought of that. It wasn’t like he’d ever get that part. There was no point dwelling on it, or in accidentally bringing down Carlos along with him.</p><p>Not only was there no way that Seb would ever get up the nerve to audition for Sharpay, but no one would ever cast him for that part. Still, even if he just ended up in the chorus or whatever role, it was still going to be a good time.</p><p>He tried to dwell on the last part of that thought instead of focusing on all the things he knew he would never have and never get to do. “That’s awesome!”</p><p>Carlos grinned. “I’m probably going to watch it at least weekly, if not daily, for the rest of the summer.”</p><p>He laughed. “Isn’t that a little much?”</p><p>“Well, I am going to be the resident High School Musical expert, so I have to make sure that I’m up to speed on all of this stuff! What part do you want, Sebby?”</p><p>Seb felt his spine stiffening, but tried to ease the tension out of him. Carlos didn’t need to be involved in all of his problems. “I mean, I’m not sure? I’m definitely not a Troy Bolton type dude, though.”</p><p>Carlos snorted. “I mean, I think you’d make a great Troy. But we all know that EJ Caswell is going to get that part, anyway.”</p><p>“Wait, didn’t he graduate last year?”</p><p>“One would think. But no. He was just a star the last three years, and he’s decided to deal with all of us mortals for another year and completely steal the show. And pretend like the people like us never exist, but that’s pretty par for the course, don’t you think?”</p><p>Seb didn’t know what to say to that, but fortunately, he didn’t have to come up with anything as Carlos continued. “Anyway, I have no idea whose going to play Gabriella. Almost all of that type of talent graduated last year.”</p><p>“I mean, I guess there will always be someone new! Besides, most of the management is in our class, between you and Natalie, if Natalie gets asked to be stage manager again.”</p><p>“You’re right. But seriously, you’re going to do great, Sebby! This is the year of the sophomores, and our class is absolutely going to rock it in the musical. Between you, me, Natalie, Ashlyn... the list goes on and on. We have like the most amount of talent individually, and together? We’ll be unstoppable.”</p><p>Seb felt his cheeks growing red, and he wasn’t exactly sure why. Of course he loved the theater. As of the present, that was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. Getting a chance to go to New York and see a show on Broadway was literally one of his dreams. But there was just something about the way that Carlos said it that made the whole thing different. More intense, maybe, that someone else was acknowledging them, even not so explicitly. Of course Carlos was going to include his name, because they were face timing together. Sure, Seb still wasn’t certain why, but Carlos was a nice guy and wasn’t just going to leave him out.</p><p>“I mean, there’s a lot to go before we rule the school. We’re still underclassmen, after all.”</p><p>“Being an underclassman doesn’t mean anything! We can do anything we want to! I guarantee Seb, you’ll get any part you audition for.”</p><p>That was really nice. It wasn’t true, and not just because of Seb’s overwhelming caution in his acting skills. It wasn’t like anyone would want to cast him as Sharpay, or even consider the idea of it to be any more than a joke. Not to mention that while Seb wanted to think more positively of his skills, he knew better than that. Carlos had proven himself, but even though Seb loved to be onstage, the thought of putting himself out there like that terrified him.</p><p>“Wait, real quick, what’s your phone number? I just realized when I tried to call you that I don’t have it, only your Insta.”</p><p>Seb recited the numbers, and Carlos shot a grin at him through the phone screen. “Great. Now I can spam you with memes at 3 am.”</p><p>“I don’t think I’ll be awake for that,” Seb said, glad that the camera on his phone wouldn’t be able to pick up on him squirming in his seat. Sure, it was fine that Carlos was going to text him, but the whole thing was just so confusing. And different. Sure, Seb had been missing his school friends, but how many times did he and Carlos even talk last year? They didn’t even go to the same middle school, so it wasn’t like they really knew each other. He was just so bad at this, trying to figure out what people wanted.</p><p>“Well, then prepare to get your phone blown up overnight.”</p><p>Seb laughed a little at that, unsure what exactly to do, but it wasn’t like it was ever going to be a bad thing to have more friends. Carlos and he had a lot in common. “Alright, I guess I will be.”</p><p>Carlos shot a quick grin at him. “Right. We are definitely going to make something of the rest of this summer because honestly, it’s been so boring up until now.”</p><p>Seb nodded. “I mean, I guess, yeah.”</p><p>Carlos sighed, the camera moving as he did, even though Seb wasn’t entirely sure what the other boy was doing. “Alright, sorry, I gotta go now. I’ll text you, okay?”</p><p>“Okay. Bye Carlos!”</p><p>“Bye Seb!” Carlos said, right before he disconnected the call.</p><p>That went better than Seb would have expected, but he also wouldn’t have expected it to have happened in the first place. If he were to guess which one of his classmates would have called him today, he never would have guessed Carlos.</p><p>It wasn’t like anything was going to happen because of it. Sure, in theory they should be friends - both boys had a lot of the same interests in theater - but that didn’t matter. Carlos was just being nice, he was just bored, and Seb, well, it wasn’t like Seb was going to say no to someone like Carlos Rodriguez reaching out to him of all people.</p><p>Yeah, Carlos had his phone number now, but he’d probably forget all about it soon, as things changed and he grew to have a lot more important things to do. That was just how things went sometimes, and Seb didn’t care.</p><p>He had no idea how wrong he would be.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Trying to update every Wednesday, at least for the time being. Chapter lengths will continue to vary greatly.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Texting The Boy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Carlos fidgeted in his bed, as his thumb kept hovering between the send button and just deleted the entire text.</p><p>It was stupid, right? To get so obsessed over whether he should send the text. It was stupid, just a meme. Not a big deal, but even though Seb had said that it was fine to text him did not actually mean that it was all okay.</p><p>Honestly, he just needed to chill. It was way too late, or maybe way too early, to keep on working about things like this.</p><p>But the thing was that besides a few messages in various group chats, Carlos hadn’t actually talked to anyone from school this summer. It kind of hurt, knowing all the friendships he thought he had made at school were just nonexistent. Sure, his social life had improved since color guard practices had started up again, but in so many other ways, he was just alone. Even at color guard, Carlos was one of only a few boys and he was far more into it than a lot of the other girls. He practiced all the time at home, but it wasn’t as if he had all that much to do.</p><p>Facetiming Seb was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and one that Carlos didn’t regret. It was nice to talk to someone who cared about theater as much as Carlos did. But that didn’t make everything else just fall into line; see Carlos’ present situation.</p><p>He hadn’t even talked to Seb that much freshman year, even though they were both drama geeks in the same grade. He didn’t know if they had anything in common at all outside of theater to build the foundation of a friendship for.</p><p>But he just felt so alone this summer. Most of the people who had accepted Carlos for who he was in high school were preparing to go off to college this fall. Of the kids remaining at East High, he didn’t really know anyone outside of theater or the color guard. He knew he had to make a difference in his own life. And Seb was always so nice and sweet, so why wouldn’t texting him be a good idea?</p><p>Honestly, it had been an impulse decision to call the other boy the first time and even though Carlos didn’t regret it, that didn’t mean that any future communication was going to be on the right side of awkward. He had no idea what Seb had been spending his summer doing, but unlike most of the other theater kids Carlos followed on Instagram, he seemed to spend the summer at home with his family, instead of traveling even just outside of the city.</p><p>Carlos just needed to get the whole thing over with. Honestly, what was the worst that could happen if he texted? Seb had technically said it was fine, and even if he didn’t mean it, then at least they had a few weeks before the school year started to forget about the entire thing. </p><p>One text. That was all he needed to send, and then if Seb didn’t respond, Carlos would just have to move on, to find some other way to spend the rest of his summer. It honestly wasn’t like there was anything better to do, so the boy might as well just give this one a shot. It didn’t matter what anyone else was doing this summer, because even as Carlos felt so alone, he knew he wasn’t, really. </p><p>Carlos brought back up the meme in the messages and then, before he could lose the nerve, he pressed send.</p><p>Sure, he instantly regretted his decision, but this was fine, really. After all, Carlos was always over the top so hopefully Seb wouldn’t find it too weird.</p><p>The waiting was going to kill him, but for right now, this was just going to have to be enough.</p><p>He didn’t know when Seb would actually get around to responding. Honestly, he didn’t know enough about the other boy to tell. What did the two of them actually have in common, anyway? Sure, some of the basics were the same, but that didn’t actually mean that this was going to be a good idea. In fact, it would be fairly easy for the whole thing to end up going the other way.</p><p>Carlos turned off his phone, before turning his screen back on. Well, at any rate, it was far too late to change his mind now. He was just going to have to go for it, no matter what happened. He had shot his shot, even though it didn’t seem like a good idea at this point.</p><p>Sometimes, this just was how things were going to have to go. It wasn’t as if he had nothing else to do either. Honestly, this summer just felt like it was dragging on and on, that there wouldn’t be an end in sight. And in some ways, it wasn’t like he was actually wrong. Sometimes, this just was how things went. The world was just so complicated sometimes, and it felt like there wasn’t enough room for all of them in it. Sure, maybe that was stupid, but that didn’t change how it actually felt like it was.</p><p>He sighed, tossing his phone onto the bed beside his pillow. Whatever. If this was how it was going to be, then that was that. At least he had taken the shot, right?</p><p>Seb probably had a million other things to do this summer rather than text Carlos, but then again, he was the only person to reply to Carlos’ message. At the time, it had seemed like the right thing to do. Now, all the confusion had set in, and it was like everything was different, with no way to really tell which was was going to be the correct way.</p><p>It was just so dumb to feel this way. He hardly knew Seb, and just because it would be nice to have a friend, especially as the summer kept dragging on and on, didn’t mean that anyone else felt the same way or was in the same situation. This was probably just him overreacting, but just because Carlos knew logically that he was being a mess didn’t actually mean that he could control any of this stuff. The world kept on spinning.</p><p>His phone buzzed and Carlos yelped, practically throwing his phone in the air at the shock of the noise. He picked his phone up from the floor and unlocked the screen.</p><p>One notification.</p><p>A text from Seb.</p><p>Carlos smiled.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry that it's been a while, but I'll just keep on updating. Honestly, I don't expect to finish this fic before Season 2, but here's to hoping!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Texting Victories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ever since that first text, it was like some sort of friendship between the two boys had exploded between them. It was honestly kind of wild to think about, especially considering how little they had actually talked before that one face-time call. He definitely didn’t regret anything that had happened since then. Seb had friends, of course, but most of them were in separate parts of his life. There had been no one like this strange relationship that he had been growing with Carlos.</p><p>He feared it was all going to stop when the school year actually started. It wasn’t as if Carlos and he had been close before, and it only made sense to conclude they would fall right back into their old patterns once school returned. But the idea that it would hurt to lose this friend was actually kind of amazing.</p><p>It was different, waking up to texts, and going to bed still texting. To have his phone vibrate in the barn or at the fair and know that it was Carlos texting him, instead of just a random notification he hadn’t yet turned off on his phone.</p><p>They hadn’t face-timed or called since the first time, when they didn’t even have each other’s numbers. Seb tried not to be disappointed by that fact. Honestly, why should he be? This was so much more than they had ever talked to each other, and texts were convenient. He could send them whenever he was awake and free and honestly, there was something amazing about waiting for a text and it finally coming in, even though the two boys were on two very different schedules.</p><p>It hadn’t even been that long since they had started texting, but Seb couldn’t even imagine what it would be like once it stopped. And it would stop, Seb just knew it. It wasn’t even anything against Carlos, or against himself, but this just was how it was going to happen. It was better to be prepared for the inevitable disappointment than to be surprised out of nowhere.</p><p>He had just come in from outside and changed clothes to get out of the heat before flopping down on his bed. Summer might be the time that he actually did more with the livestock, but that didn’t actually make this stuff any less unbearable in the heat. He’d much prefer the casual breezes of fall or spring over the heat that sat on him, weighing everything else down.</p><p>Seb knew there was a message on his phone from Carlos, but hadn’t had time to read it. He was pretty sure that his sister knew that something was up, and probably his parents and the rest of his siblings as well, even the ones that didn’t live with them anymore. It wasn’t like Seb was good at keeping things low key. But this thing with Carlos, Seb just didn’t know what it was and wanted to keep it private, to explore this by himself without having to explain all the things that he didn’t know to every single person who was related to him.</p><p>Even before he opened the message, Seb realized he was smiling, which brought an instant red to his cheeks, one that he couldn’t just blame on the heat outside.</p><p>It was stupid, acting like this. Seb knew that, but at least here, in the privacy of his own room, he could pretend like all the rest of these things just weren’t true.</p><p>Technically, it wasn’t even his own room, but Seb had always shared with his older brother, Jack, who was spending the summer at college. It was more privacy than Seb had ever gotten in his entire life and yet, somehow, it just felt lonely. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was. After all, there had been plenty of times that either Jack or himself had been out somewhere, and yet this just felt like something different, something strange.</p><p>The summer may have felt lonely, but now that he was spending so much time texting Carlos, he appreciated the chance to be alone, to try out whatever it was between them.</p><p>It also would provide an opportunity to actually talk on the phone, but it wasn’t like that was going to happen. The first time was about Carlos’ excitement, about the complete lack of other contacts. And that was fine, really. Seb didn’t need anything else. This was enough.</p><p>He read Carlos’ text as he settled down in his bed, before he practically yelped and jumped up with the excitement.</p><p>
  <i>what are you doing this weekend</i>
</p><p>
  <i>want to come over and watch HSM for practice</i>
</p><p>
  <i>and spend the night</i>
</p><p>The answer was a very obvious and immediate yes, but as soon as he typed in the letters (and probably way too many exclamation points), Seb hesitated.</p><p>He knew better than to overthink this, but that didn’t actually make the whole thing any easier. Maybe things would be different if he could, but that didn’t make the whole thing any easier, not with all the thoughts swirling through his head.</p><p>Seb worried about so much, but that didn’t make any of the rest of this any easier. He knew that he just needed to do it. After all, he was almost certain that he’d have a wonderful time. Why wouldn’t he?</p><p>He just needed to calm down and think of the basics. Of course it made sense. He just needed to do it, to say yes.</p><p>Deleting some of the exclamation points and hitting send honestly was one of the most difficult things ever, and Seb was so glad that no one could see how much he was blushing right now. It was fine. This new friendship was scary, but that didn’t mean that it was bad. If texting Carlos was so easy, then surely it would be the same way once the two of them were there in person.</p><p>Right?</p><p>At least a movie was a simple thing. If it went poorly, well, at least there was a movie on to watch. Seb really didn’t want it to go poorly, but he knew he had to be realistic. He had never done anything like this before.</p><p>Crap, he really had never done anything like this before, as in agreeing to go over to a boy’s house who his parents had never officially met before and spend the night over there.</p><p>That... might be a problem.</p><p>Could he even come over that weekend? He felt like he should know if there was something going on, and while he couldn’t think of anything, that didn’t actually mean that there wasn’t anything there. This could be bad. Really bad.</p><p>But it could be wonderful too. He really wanted to go, no matter how anxious he felt about how fast it could go wrong and ruin his budding friendship with Carlos, but it was going to be fine. And his parents would have to see that, right?</p><p>The only way to find that out was to ask, and even though Seb knew that his face had to be still flushed, he had to find out sooner, to know immediately.</p><p>He went to text Carlos again, even though the message that had already been sent back had Seb’s heart pounding through his chest.</p><p>
  <i>can’t wait!!!! it’s going to be so great</i>
</p><p>Seb texted back, even as his heart thumped in his chest.</p><p>
  <i>Hold on a sec, let me ask my parents</i>
</p><p>Carlos just sent a thumbs up in response. Seb took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever his parents were going to say, before heading out of his room, hoping that the blush on his cheeks had died down and that he’d actually be able to pull this off as casual. Honestly, both things seemed pretty unlikely, but he had to hope. He loved his family, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to share everything with them, especially something like this, even if Seb didn’t have the words to explain exactly what this was.</p><p>His parents were in the kitchen, and Seb sent out a silent prayer of relief that none of his siblings had made it back to the kitchen yet. Having this conversation was going to be hard enough with just his mom and dad, and he didn’t need anyone else butting in to give their own opinions. That would just end up being a lot more than he could take.</p><p>Seb really wanted to go, even if he feared all the possibilities. But that was no reason to hold himself back. This was the time to act, to be the person who he wanted to be and do the things he wanted to go, like actually spend time with someone who cared as much about theater as he did.</p><p>The boy cleared his throat, feeling awkward but not knowing how to start this conversation otherwise. When his parents looked up, Seb just went for it, even as he rushed and stumbled over his words.</p><p>He was pretty sure that they knew who Carlos was, since they had been to both of the school plays last year that both of them were in, even if they were both freshmen. “Carlos from school asked if I can come over this weekend and spend the night.”</p><p>Seb’s mom nodded, setting down her glass on the counter. “Okay. Do you want to go, Sebby?”</p><p>Seb nodded his head, jerking it up and down. He wished he could not be so nervous about this. After all, it wasn’t like there was a reason to be. He was a good kid and had never asked for anything like this before, or had done anything that would make his parents not trust him (unlike some of his siblings).</p><p>His mom looked to his dad for support, who frowned. “Wait, who’s Carlos?” he asked.</p><p>“He’s in East High Drama club with me. Same year in school, but went to a different middle school.”</p><p>Seb’s parents exchanged a look. Seb didn’t know what that meant, or if he even wanted to know. The silence was palpable, but Seb made no move to disrupt it, just in case.</p><p>Finally, after way too long of silence, his mom nodded her head, talking slowly. “Okay, Sebby. You can go.”</p><p>He couldn’t help the wide grin that came to his face.</p><p>This weekend was going to be one to remember. Seb just hoped it was for the right reasons.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. An In-Person Meeting Carlos Is Not Freaking Out About</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Carlos fidgeted from his seat on the couch, completely unable to calm down.</p><p>He had woken up early, unable to sleep as the excitement had overwhelmed him, along with the pure anxiety at having Seb come over here.</p><p>He just didn’t know what to do. He had cleaned (probably way too much, but whatever it was fine), but that had been done hours ago, and it was going to be far too long until Seb actually got there.</p><p>Carlos had done his best to ensure that everything was going to be perfect, which honestly made him feel childish. But then again, considering that he had literally asked someone over to spend the night to watch High School Musical, then maybe there was an element of truth to it being childish. And maybe Carlos was going to be fine with that.</p><p>Okay, so maybe he was still a little nervous, but that was still fine. Seb had agreed, after all, and Carlos didn’t think the other boy would judge him too much for these decisions. It might be strange and new, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t okay.</p><p>The only blessing that he had right now is that his parents had run out to do a few errands, which meant that they weren’t here to see his suffering. They had promised to leave him and Seb alone, but Carlos knew his family and that seemed pretty unlikely to actually happen. The chance of one of his relatives coming over was high, since it was a weekend.</p><p>Honestly, why did Carlos even think that this was a good idea again? The idea of Seb having to meet and interact with his family who would definitely embarrass him was terrifying. It wasn’t even that he wasn’t proud of his family and his heritage, but they lived in Utah. Of course Seb wasn’t like that, but it was natural at this point. And yeah, that was a bad thing, but that didn’t mean he could change it. And families were just embarrassing at the best of times, always finding the exactly wrong button to push.</p><p>He was so nervous about it, and honestly, the whole thing was stupid. Seb knew who Carlos was, and if he didn’t like it, then he wouldn’t have agreed to come over here. Besides, from what Carlos knew about Seb, the other boy was literally one of the sweetest people ever. He wouldn’t do anything and probably wouldn’t respond negatively to any of the many things that have happened when Carlos had had friends over in the past.</p><p>So then why was he so nervous?</p><p>Carlos guessed it didn’t really matter why because that didn’t change the fact that he was. Besides, this was the only contact he actually had had this summer with someone else who was returning to East High this fall, and the only in-person content. It was going to be fine and hopefully, it was going to be perfect.</p><p>He hadn’t realized how little he knew about the other boy until he was trying to prepare for the sleepover. Was Seb allergic to anything? God, it would be so embarrassing if he accidentally poisoned the other boy. What did Seb like to do? He knew the other boy liked drama and the theater, and that was literally it. Was it okay to just talk about High School Musical the entire time? Probably not, but what else were they supposed to do? An entire night was a long night, and it would be super awkward if they both got a full night’s sleep.</p><p>It was a lot and honestly, one part of Carlos almost wished that he could cancel, but there was no way that he was going to. This was Seb Matthew-Smith, and Carlos was going to try his best so that the pair of them could be friends. That was reasonable, right?</p><p>He knew he was zoning out right now, but it wasn’t as if there was anything else that he could do besides freak out until Seb got here. Over-preparation for the win, he supposed. Carlos had been like this ever since he had asked Seb to come over.</p><p>The doorbell rang, and Carlos was so startled that he fell off the couch. Thank god no one was here to see that.</p><p>Carlos got up, dusting himself off before making his way over to his door, trying to get the anxiety out of his head because honestly, right now there just wasn’t time for any of it.</p><p>The boy flung open the door, and he couldn’t help but to grin at the sight of the other boy. “Hey, Seb!”</p><p>Seb grinned back. “Hey, Carlos.”</p><p>Carlos stepped back to let the other boy inside, gesturing around with his arms at the room, his arms erratic and moving far too much. “Welcome to Casa de Rodriguez!”</p><p>Seb grinned, even as he had to duck to dodge one of Carlos’ flailing arms. “Nice. My uh, mom is here to drop me off.”</p><p>The other boy flushed a little at that, but Carlos tried not to move at all, even as his hands clenched and unclenched. “Mine had to run to the store, but they should back soon if she wants to talk to them or whatever.”</p><p>Seb nodded, stepping in to let the tall woman step in behind him. She smiled at him. “You must be Carlos.”</p><p>Carlos shoved his hands into his pockets as he nodded, smiling. He was pretty sure that his hands were shaking, but there was no way he was going to let anyone know that. This entire conversation felt like uncharted territory, and he felt so uncomfortable with the entire thing.</p><p>Why was he being so nervous? Yeah, it was a weird situation and one that he never would have imagined getting himself in this summer, but that didn’t mean that he regretted even a minute. Sometimes, things just happened, and he just needed to figure out what would be the best way to deal with it from here on out.</p><p>The two boys went over to the couch, Seb following behind Carlos, and Seb’s mom behind the pair of them.</p><p>Carlos just tried his best to actually breath. His home was nice enough, a little cramped, usually at all the people living there. Honestly, he was fortunate that his grandparents weren’t living with them, having found their way with some of his aunts and uncles who also lived in the Salt Lake City area.</p><p>Looking at Seb’s face, the other boy didn’t seem to care though. Carlos had no idea where all of this had come from, but maybe it didn’t matter. There was just so much stuff going on, but maybe this just had to be good enough.</p><p>It was strange, building a relationship with someone like this. Carlos had hardly ever invited someone over to his house, couldn’t remember the last time that someone had slept over here, and yet somehow, it just felt like it didn’t really matter anymore, not in the face of all the things going on.</p><p>This was definitely going to be something he thought about later, because right now, he had to stay on top of everything to be the perfect host and the best version of Carlos Rodriguez that he could be, no matter what anyone else might try to say or do. The time was now, and Carlos had to be sure that he could take the best of it.</p><p>He turned to Seb and grinned. Maybe things really were going to be okay.</p><p>This was perhaps the strangest summer ever, but maybe that was going to be enough. Something was happening here, and Carlos could definitely use a friend. Maybe Seb could as well. This could mean something for the two of them, and Carlos just had to make the most of it.</p><p>For right now, this was the first night of the rest of their lives.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>More about their sleepover coming next chapter. And I'm almost done with this semester so hopefully I should have more updates coming soon.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Two Boys in the Basement</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seb felt like he had been holding his breath all day long, and he wasn’t sure when he could ever release it.</p><p>His mom had left as soon as Carlos’s parents had got home, thank goodness. It was embarrassing enough to wait with his mom and Carlos. Sure, he got why she wanted to wait until an adult was there, even though Seb had never been a bad kid. She didn’t know these people. It was fine.</p><p>But even though he had been the only person in the room who had known both of the others, any time he tried to say something to break the awkward silence surrounding them, it was like his words got trapped in his throat. There was no way to get out of this one.</p><p>He just hoped that this wouldn’t end up foreshadowing the rest of their night. Sure, it was a little rocky, but they could do this. Sure, Seb didn’t know what this was, but that didn’t matter. They’d figure it out. Or else it was going to make for a very awkward night and probably trickle into the first few weeks of school.</p><p>Carlos was like a ball of manic energy, some part of him moving at all times, like if he stopped for a moment, he’d end up vibrating into an explosion of a thousand pieces. Even as his feet were leading Seb down to the basement, his hands were constantly moving, gesturing wildly.</p><p>Seb moistened his lips. He could do this. They could take control of the night and end up having a memorable one in the best way, back to the style of their text messages had been.</p><p>But texting and sleepovers were two wildly different beasts.</p><p>“Your parents seem nice,” he finally blurted out, cringing as soon as the words had passed his lips. Seriously. Parents talk? Not exactly what two teenagers were supposed to talk about.</p><p>What were two teenagers supposed to talk about? Seb had no idea. He had never really been a normal teenager, and he was pretty sure ripping dialogue straight from Disney Channel would be a poor choice. But they were both two drama geeks. That had to count for something, right?</p><p>He was spiraling.</p><p>Carlos shrugged a few steps down from him, not bothering to turn his head. “I mean, they’re parents. I love them, I guess. But more importantly... East High is putting on High School Musical!”</p><p>He practically squealed at the end, and Seb couldn’t help but grin. That was right.</p><p>It was so cool that High School Musical had been filmed in their high school at all, even though Seb was barely alive when it was filmed. But sometimes, when he walked down the halls of their high school last year, it felt like something special, that those same halls had been in such an amazing movie that so many people knew about.</p><p>Sure, the magic had worn off pretty fast after a few days trying to survive freshman year, but every once in a while, when Seb was just going about his normal business, he glimpsed something and he couldn’t help but to smile.</p><p>He knew there was no way he was going to get his dream role, but honestly, putting it on at all seemed magical enough. He didn’t need to play the role that spoke to him, even as a small child. There would be plenty of roles, plenty of opportunities to be someone else, even beyond high school. Whatever might happen didn’t actually need to affect him all that much, even though it kind of felt like it.</p><p>Right now, Seb just needed to be in the moment. Seize the day and all that. Because Carlos was here, and Carlos cared too, and they were going to have an amazing night.</p><p>No harm in staying optimistic, right?</p><p>“Yeah! Honestly, never thought we were going to. A part of it feels weird, right? I mean, we’re going to create a set when we’re on their set.”</p><p>Carlos was practically vibrating with energy. “Yeah, but still. It’s going to be so amazing, even if I have no clue who’s going to be what. And that I won’t be in it.”</p><p>Seb frowned. “Wait, you’re not going to be in it?”</p><p>The other boy shook his head. “Student choreographer, right? I mean, I think that Miss Jenn - that’s our new drama teacher’s name, by the way - would probably let me, but I’d much rather work with the entire thing. Plus, the only major role I could be would be a basketball player, and honestly, there’s no way I’d ever want to be that. Well, there’s Ryan, I guess. But I figure other people might want to play him.”</p><p>Seb couldn’t help the flush that came to his cheeks. It was pretty obvious, especially from Carlos’ pointed look, that he assumed Seb wanted to be Ryan. Seb supposed he had the look for it, or at least what people expected whoever played Ryan to look like.</p><p>And in all honesty, Carlos wasn’t too far off the mark. Playing Ryan wouldn’t be the worst role ever, especially figuring all the subtext and Seb’s own personal realizations. And if he actually got one of the major roles, then it was probably going to end up being that one.</p><p>That was jumping too far ahead. Seb would probably just be in the chorus again. And that was fine, really. No matter what happened, he knew he would end up having an amazing time with his classmates, both the ones he already knew and the ones he had yet to meet.</p><p>“I mean, it’s really cool she’s letting you do this.”</p><p>Carlos nodded, a big grin on his face. “Seriously, though. I mean, it can’t be all that different from color guard, right? I’ve been watching a ton of videos, like even more than normal, about choreography and stuff.”</p><p>Once again, Seb was struck by the similarities between the pair, that they both were so into theater and yet unlike most of the other drama kids, there wasn’t a lot of well, formal education or training. Not for lack of effort or lack of desire, but just because of who they actually were at this point in time. And honestly, that was kind of refreshing. Sure, most of their future cast mates might go to drama camp or wherever, but that didn’t mean that when school came about, the pair of them were right in the thick of it with the others. During the actual performance and all the rehearsals beforehand, it didn’t actually matter whether they spent their entire summer at camp or, like Carlos, watching YouTube videos and dreaming of a world outside of Salt Lake. </p><p>“I can imagine! You’ll do a great job. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us.”</p><p>If it was even possible, Carlos’ grin got even wider at the thought. “I can’t wait! That’s part of the reason why I want to watch High School Musical again- to get some ideas. And you’ll be good at helping, like the uncredited assistant student choreographer.”</p><p>Seb let out a laugh. “Great, exactly what I always wanted for my sophomore year. My dreams are complete.”</p><p>A part of him was relieved that they hadn’t had to go through all that what-have-you been-doing-this-summer because honestly, he doubted Carlos had much interest in the way Seb spent his summer. Not very many musicals were found on the farm during Seb’s days. Sure, the nights were a little different as Seb watched video after video in his room, but that was private and a little sad. Sure, it was great to know someone else in East High drama got most of their inspiration from YouTube, but that didn’t actually mean that he was ready to share everything else.</p><p>Carlos flopped down on the couch, gesturing wildly at the general space on the other side, where Seb took a seat, sitting on the edge, taking in all of Carlos’ house. A part of him couldn’t even believe that this was happening. It was so unlike him. And yet, right now, that was irrelevant because here they were, with all their hopes and fears and an entire night ahead of the pair of them for Seb to try to not mess up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I finally edited this thanks to listening to Even When/The Best Part on repeat for the millionth time. I had finished this but it was just sitting in a doc. On the bright side, I do have about half of the next chapter already written so it shouldn't be that much longer.</p><p>The world needs a Seblos duet in season 2. And Seblos drama.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Carlos Confessions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Carlos couldn’t keep the grin off his face, and it wasn’t just from seeing this classic movie. Sure, that was reason enough to smile, but even though it hadn’t been that long, the whole thing was going better than he possibly could have planned.</p><p>Things were going well tonight, and he was feeling cautiously optimistic about the entire thing. No matter how much he might know logically that he didn’t actually have anything to be scared about, that didn’t actually translate into reality or how he was actually feeling.</p><p>Still, Zac Efron was a pretty realistic reason to get distracted. God, Carlos did not regret asking for that cardboard cutout, even though he was kind of glad he had never gotten it. That would be a hard one to explain to literally everyone. Especially Seb, because odds are it would have ended up downstairs at some point and he didn’t need a realistic cut out to explain.</p><p>But even though Zac Efron would always be amazing, for the first time watching this movie all of his attention wasn’t focused on Troy and Sharpay, but on the boy sitting next to him.</p><p>It was weird, watching a movie he knew so well with Seb Matthew-Smith. He couldn’t help but to look over at the other boy during all his favorite parts, waiting to see the grin on the other boy’s face that matched his own and the occasional laugh. It was nice and not what he had expected. He had never watched one of his favorite movies with just one other person before, one person who he cared about the reaction of. Watching a movie with the family just wasn’t the same. It’s not that it was bad, definitely not. He liked it, even if he kept missing some of the amazing facial expressions on Ashley Tisdale’s face, because he was watching the face of the boy on the couch next to him instead.</p><p>Just because it was weird didn’t make it a bad thing, even though Carlos really just wasn’t sure what to think. Maybe confusing was the best way to qualify this experience. Still, they had the entire night ahead of them and Carlos couldn’t afford to get caught up on just one thing. That would be about too much to take. He didn’t even know what they were going to do after this, what Seb would want to be. Even though they had been texting for a while, so many things about the other boy were just such a mystery.</p><p>Would it be too cheesy if he said he wanted to solve that mystery? Honestly, probably. Still, that didn’t change how he felt, no matter how embarrassing that might be.</p><p>And honestly, if anything was to be embarrassing, then it would probably be an accident. Carlos forced himself to keep his eyes ahead on the movie, even as everything else was far too aware of the boy sitting on the couch next to him, focused in on even the slightest reaction at all. He had to know.</p><p>It kind of sucked, watching this amazing movie and getting so distracted by the boy sitting next to him.</p><p>Okay, confession time. If it wasn’t already obvious already, Carlos had a crush on Seb.</p><p>Not that he was ever going to tell anyone that. Sure, he was out, but that didn’t mean that he was ready for anything more. Carlos might be all about the drama, but not in his own life.</p><p>He hadn’t told anyone, but then again, it wasn’t like he had anyone to tell. He wasn’t really talking to people outside of his family besides Seb, and this clearly wasn’t something he could talk to the other boy about.</p><p>It wasn’t something he’d planned on either. Sure, he had always noticed the other boy. It was impossible not to, even though he didn’t think Seb felt the same or even noticed him at all last year.</p><p>Seb was just so passionate about theater, in a way that even not all the drama kids were about, and it was amazing to witness. Carlos didn’t even realize it was a crush at the time, even as he found his eyes always finding the other boy on stage or off it. Seb was just fun to watch, that was all.</p><p>Then when Carlos was so excited about the news and Seb was the only one to respond, it was all natural to reach out, even if it was totally impulsive.</p><p>But the more the two boys texted, the more Carlos got to know Seb, got to like him as a person instead of just from afar, it was only a matter of time before he made the realization that hey; he had a massive crush on Seb Matthew-Smith.</p><p>It was just so stupid. Of course he didn’t realize until they were tentative friends and honestly, Carlos didn’t have any friends he could afford to lose. Seb was great, and all crushes had to go away at some point, right? It was probably just getting to actually talk to someone who had so much in common with him and seemed to like him as a person.</p><p>Carlos didn’t think he’d be the one to keep his feelings on the down low about anything, but this was just how it was. And that was fine, really. He had so many other things to worry about, including the upcoming school year and being the student choreographer for a production. That was something far more exciting than any crush, even when the boy in question was Seb.</p><p>He just had to keep his mind off the subject, and eventually things would just have to go back to normal.</p><p>Carlos blinked, and as he focused back on the movie, he realized they were almost done. It seemed impossible that time could fly by that fast. He was also kind of mad for missing so much, but he could always rewatch the movie later. Not to mention, he didn’t need to know everything that Seb thought. This was fine. He was doing fine.</p><p>As soon as the credits started rolling, Seb turned to him with a big grin on his face. “Go Wildcats,” he said, and even as Carlos’ heart skipped a beat, he couldn’t help but to cheer.</p><p>His emotions might be all over the place, but at least High School Musical would be a safe place to let it all out, even if he was working with Seb on the whole thing, at least for now. It’d be fun, right?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Season 2 is here in like 6 hours! I'm so excited. Honestly this wasn't supposed to happen in this chapter, but it worked out great. I'm going to try to keep updating this fic this season but updates may depend on how many ideas I get from the new episodes.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Posting today to celebrate the season 2 release date finally dropping! I've been working on this for a few weeks now and am extremely excited about some of the places I plan to go. Most of the other chapters will be much longer. I'll update tags as I go. Thank you for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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